


The Manes-Guerin Family Band

by christchex



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, dad band au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christchex/pseuds/christchex
Summary: Every Ranchero Night the Manes-Guerin Family Band performs for free. Not because they’re bad, but because they love the owner of the bar and they love playing together. This Ranchero Night there’s a new addition to the band.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 39
Kudos: 168





	The Manes-Guerin Family Band

**Author's Note:**

  * For [misandrywitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/misandrywitch/gifts).



> Anyway, misandrywitch wrote a great folk band au that I love, so this is for her and also anyone who also latched on to the whole 'dad band' concept.
> 
> This is unapologetic sappy sappy fluff.
> 
> Edit: I just realized I contradicted myself so... just ignore how long I said Isaac had been with them/how old he was when they got him.

Maria laughed as Michael’s hair scrunched up in pain. Little fists were wrapped around his hair, occasionally pulling but mostly just holding firm. He had stopped attempting to free his hair about three months prior, when Isaac had come to live with them. A loud “oomp” escaped his mouth and Maria laughed again.

“Alex!” She called across the floor of The Wild Pony. “Come save your husband!”

Alex didn’t look up from where he was running the wires for the amps. “He did this to himself,” he called back as he taped more wire. “He didn’t want to leave Isaac with Isobel when we dropped off the rest of the kids.”

“He’s been sniffly!” Michael defended as he cuddled the 10-month old to his chest. He kissed his dark hair before he winced again at another pull. “He’d just cry if he stayed with her, and then Hope and Aileen would have missed out on Aunt Isobel time! They’ve been talking about it all week.”

“What’s Jaime doing, if they’re having girl time?” Maria asked with a frown. “Can’t imagine he’d enjoy whatever they had planned.”

“Oh, he brought a new book. Something to do with wizards,” Alex answered instead. They hadn’t even noticed him walking over. He leaned over Michael’s shoulder to give Isaac a kiss, but he didn’t move to save Michael’s curls from his tiny clutches. “Couldn’t even get him to put it down for lunch at The Crashdown.” Maria’s eyes widened at that. Jaime, nine and a half with dreams of being a chef, idolized Arturo. The fact that he wouldn’t put his book down was truly astonishing.

“It was weird,” Michael confirmed. “I think it may have broken Arturo’s heart a little.” Michael turned his head so that he could give a kiss to Alex’s dark hair. Alex smiled before turning to give him a peck on the lips. “Did you come over for anything, or did you just want a kiss?”

Alex gave him one more kiss before he held out a mess of black fabric. Michael sighed before he grabbed the carrier. “I take it I’m being put to work?” He asked as he started to maneuver the carrier with one hand as he supported Isaac with the other. Alex moved to help him with the back buckles.

“Yup,” he said as he snapped another clip. “Mimi needs your help directing the lawyers set up.”

Michael looked at Maria in confusion. “Why would Mimi need help with that? Everything ok?”

“Oh yeah,” she shrugged, “no big deal. They changed the day of the mayor’s Town Hall meeting. She has to head out soon to make it on time.”

Michael frowned. “Wasn’t that supposed to be next week?”

“Yup. Pretty sure they changed it so that she couldn’t go and raise hell.” She rolled her eyes. “As if that was going to make her miss it.”

“Well then,” he said with a grin, “I should go let her make her escape.” He waved Isaac’s hand from where it stuck out of the carrier. “Bye-bye Auntie Maria!” Isaac smiled in response.

Alex and Maria watched him go towards the entrance, where the lawyers generally set up shop.

“He was made to be a father,” Maria observed. The small smile on Alex’s face meant he agreed. They watched for a moment as Michael bounced, Isaac in the carrier giggling, while the newest group of volunteer lawyers moved the tables as he directed. “Any word about…” Maria trailed off, unable to figure out how to actually breach the topic.

“No,” Alex sighed. Isaac and Jaime had been in their care since Isaac was two months old, an emergency placement that wasn’t supposed to last. Hope and Aileen had already been in their home for two years, both thirteen and as settled as any thirteen year olds could be. They had the space to take on more kids, so they did. “It’s looking like they’re staying, and maybe fostering to adopt will be an option. Michael loves the boys so much already, I do too. But,” he sighed. “You can’t help but want them to be with their parents, you know? It’s weird. We know we can give them a good life, we’ll love them and care for them, but...”

“But our people have a history of being separated from their families and you feel a little like you’re perpetuating that,” Maria finished for him. “Alex, it’s not the same.”

“Isaac’s mom didn’t even get to name him, social services did. It’s like we’re already erasing his culture.”

“That wasn’t you two though.” She watched Alex as he watched Michael, his winter pale skin a contrast to Isaac’s darker shade. “Have you talked to Michael about this?”

“I mentioned it once,” Alex admitted. “Well, I asked him if he ever thought about how we’re raising kids from different cultures and he said he didn’t. Mostly, he’s just focused on making sure that these kids never have to go through the things we did growing up.”

Maria reached for Alex’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “I think that may be your answer then. That history? That was never in the best interest of the kids. That’s your focus. And, you guys happened to be in a perfect area to ensure that they grow up knowing their culture and their history. And you can make sure they learn about yours too, so they learn their dad’s history as they learn their own.”

“How’d you get so wise, huh?” He asked, still wrapped in Maria’s arms.

“It’s because I’m psychic, obviously.” She gave him a soft squeeze before she let him go with a laugh. “Plus, you’ve met my mother.”

“That I have,” agreed Alex with a grin. “Now, want to help me set up the keyboard and mics? I have a feeling Michael won’t let Isaac down, so it looks like it's the keyboard for him tonight.” They looked over to where Michael was showing Isaac off to the small group of lawyers, his hand on Isaac’s belly as if to support him, regardless of the carrier. 

Maria laughed in reply and nodded.

By the time they had finished setting up, Michael and Isaac had rejoined them. They weren’t much help, primarily because Michael was too busy telling Isaac all about how beautiful his daddy was, and how smart he was, and how he’ll grow up to be just like him one day. At that, Alex ignored Maria’s look and everything it implied.

“I have to go get the bar ready,” Maria said, interrupting Michael’s ode to Alex. “You two sound check.” She walked over to the diaper bag and pulled out the little pair of noise cancelling headphones. She handed them to Michael and gave Isaac’s hand a kiss.

Isaac had no problems with the headphones, but only when Michael was carrying him. When they tried them out at home, he had pushed at them until they threatened to pop off his head. The moment Michael picked him up, Isaac was content with them over his ears. Instead, he pressed face-first into Michael’s chest and fell asleep. He was more active now, head moving every which way to watch as his dad moved his view, from in front of the microphones to behind the keyboard to the corner where Alex’s guitar was sitting. Alex stayed by their small soundboard and adjusted the levels. Isaac’s eyes always moved back to him, the bulky cover on his ears not stopping him from pressing the side of his head against Michael to smile over at Alex.

Isaac was out by the time the regulars started to stream into The Pony. His face was pressed against Michael’s chest, but his hand clutched Alex’s finger where it lay near Michael’s heart. They watched the crowd, all wrapped up together, from their quiet corner of the bar. The dregs of Michael’s double whiskey sat next to the full bottle of beer that was Alex’s drink allotment for the night. The Pony would be rowdy enough on Ranchero Night, Isaac’s presence just meant that they were extra careful.

Alex laid his head against Michael’s shoulder, arm still wrapped around him and hand still stuck in Isaac’s embrace. He turned his head to kiss Michael’s shoulder.

“Pretty sure this is all I ever wanted,” Michael murmured into the space between them as his head moved to rest atop Alex’s. Alex hummed his agreement. “I always wanted a family. I was lucky that I found mine when we were seventeen.”

“I was pretty lucky too,” Alex agreed. His eyes were closed, just enjoying the moment between him and Michael.

“We’re doing good,” Michael said with a small nudge of his shoulder. “I know you’re worried about it. And I know you think I’m not worried at all.” Alex tried to object, but Michael continued. “Just, let me say this.” Alex nodded the best he could into Michael’s shoulder. “We’re doing this right Alex. We’re doing this for the right reasons. I always wanted a family because I always wanted to make sure kids didn’t have to go through what I did. That always meant fostering or adopting, being one of the good ones. Meeting you? Marrying you? Was the best thing that ever happened to me, because you looked at those kids and you wanted to make sure they had it better than you too. We had different and similar shit, so we have different perspectives on this. That’s not a bad thing. It just means that we have a better understanding of how to help them.” 

“Is doing better taking a baby to a bar?” Alex laughed as he asked the question.

“It was fine in Sweet Home Alabama!”

Alex nudged his head up to get Michael to lift his, Michael did after a light kiss to his hair.

“What is fine in a Reese Witherspoon romcom is not always fine in real life, you know that.” Alex didn’t do more than move his head from Michael’s shoulder. He refused to untangle his finger from Isaac’s hold until he had to. He reached around Michael to grab his still full bottle of beer.

“High school sweethearts still in love after how many years? Sounds just like real life to me,” Michael argued. “We’ve been together since then! And I was basically a teen bride.”

Alex snorted into his beer bottle. “You were not even close. It wasn’t even legal when we were teens, don't try that. Plus, neither one of us ran away to New York to be fashion designers, so the comparison falls apart.”

“Wouldn’t leave you like that anyway,” Michael grumbled into Isaac’s hair. “Love you too much for that.”

Alex rolled his eyes at his husband’s antics. He watched as the bar started to fill, Maria and the newest hire Justine already running around with multiple bottles of beer between their fingers and glasses soon to be full of whiskey on the counter. The lawyers’ table was already crowded, but so was the table next to them that was doing a voter registration drive. Whatever new law the council was trying to push through, and that Mimi was attempting to block, had the crowds more involved then they had been in years.

His attention was brought back to the bar, and his husband, by voices loudly talking next to him. He smiled as he saw Michael’s coworkers, two women fresh out of their graduate program and new to company. They had joined Michael’s team straight away, eager to help his work on drought resistant crops and to tackle the problem of increased storms that has led to crop failure from flooding. He listened, barely to their voices, enjoying Michael’s enthusiasm as they discussed different studies and the impact they’d have one their work. Eventually he nudged Michael to get his attention. Michael turned, eyebrows raised. Alex just nodded towards Maria who was gesturing to her wrist.

“Oh, guess it’s time. Excuse me, we’ve got to hit the stage,” Michael said with a smile. Alex finally untangled himself from Isaac and moved to the stage, Michael barely two steps behind him. 

Alex watched as Michael moved the bench of the keyboard so that he and Isaac could fit. Honestly, Alex had anticipated Michael’s reluctance to let go of Isaac, it was why his proposed setlist had folk and country standards that did not involve a lot of dexterity on the keyboard. There were a few pop songs and modern country thrown in there, none of the things Alex played professionally or really listened to outside of Michael’s old pickup. It was nice, sometimes, playing something he didn’t write.

“Good evening everyone,” Michael said into his microphone. He looked over at Alex and smiled. “We’re the Manes-Guerin family band and we’re gonna play some songs for you.”

The crowd cheered, well used to their presence at Ranchero Nights and on other nights as well really. There was faint mumbling about their newest edition, though by this point the whole town knew that the Manes-Guerins had yet another kid. Alex couldn’t say that the town was welcoming of same-sex couples, but they did have their own way of accepting things. It helped that both Alex and Michael had no problem throwing punches if they had to. They were inching towards ten years together and the town had settled around them. They themselves had settled long before that.

The crowd cheered as Michael started a Dolly Parton song- “The one thing to bridge the queer community and the rednecks,” Michael would often joke with a wink and a wide, shit-eating grin as he blasted Jolene from his ancient truck speakers- and Alex let himself watch Michael for a moment as his body swayed lightly on the bench, his curls bouncing out of time to the music. Alex waited for his cue and then moved in with the guitar and started to sing.

Six songs later they take a break. The woman running the voter registration table takes her place behind Alex’s microphone while he, Michael, and a slowly waking Isaac make their way to Maria and the glasses of water she has waiting for them at the bar.

“How long did it take you to convince him to throw in some Panic! at the Disco?” Maria joked to Michael. She led them to the back room. Michael laughed as he took the headphones off of Isaac’s head and handed them to Alex.

“Oh, it didn’t take long at all,” was Michael’s response, barely out of his mouth before both Maria and Alex slapped his arms. “Hey! That wasn’t even a dirty joke!” He tried to argue, but both gave him looks that screamed ‘disbelieving’. He didn’t try to argue more, just sighed and started to unlatch Isaac from the carrier.

“We know you too well Guerin,” Alex said as he reached for Isaac. Any potential harshness from his words were smoothed over by the soft kiss he gave Michael. “Think you have one more set in you?” Alex asked Isaac, bringing him up to his face before he blew a raspberry on his stomach. Isaac laughed in delight. Alex did it again.

“He’ll definitely pass out before we have to pack up, that’s for sure,” Michael said after he downed his glass of water. “You still ok with us picking everything up tomorrow morning? We have to go straight to Iz’s to pick up the kids and the SUV does not have enough space for all of us.”

“Of course,” Maria replied.

Alex was too busy making Isaac giggle to pay too much attention to their conversation. He let himself get lost in the way Isaac laughed and clapped after every kiss to his cheek, as if he was congratulating Alex for every sign of affection or like he was delighted and couldn’t contain it to just a smile. Alex didn’t know if he was ever like that as a child, but he loved that he could make his son smile like that. Watching Isaac clap and smile and laugh, Alex couldn’t hold on to the reservations he had earlier in the evening. He still cared about the challenges of raising the kids, growing up in different cultures and the fraught history he had with his own, but Michael was right. Different perspectives just made it easier to solve every problem or learn how to anyway.

Alex looked at the clock. “Oh!” He said to Isaac as he gave him one last kiss to his head. “Time to go back to Daddy! We’ve got some music to play!”

They did play more music, two more small sets before the in house sound system took over for them. As predicted, Isaac was out again by the time Alex placed his guitar in the case. He did the majority of the packing while Maria and Michael moved the lighter equipment into the backroom. They locked the door once he carried the last amp in.

“I’ll stop by on my way to work,” Michael said to Maria as they made their way to the door.

“Mom will be here, so that’ll work.”

They said their goodbyes quickly. Maria had to get back behind the bar and Michael and Alex had to go pick up their children from an exciting night at Aunt Isobel’s. Isaac didn’t stir when they took his headphones off. Nor did he stir once they got him in his car seat. He made a slight noise as his siblings got in the car, but Jaime started stroking his hair and he settled quickly.

“Did you have a good time?” Alex asked from the driver’s seat. Michael was turned in his seat to face the kids.

“All good,” Michael said, clearing Alex for take off.

The girls, still excited from their ‘Girls Night’, mostly kept their voices low. They spoke the whole 20 minute car ride home about the movies they watched, how Aunt Iz did their nails, and how Aunt Rosa had stopped by to do an art project.

“Jaime even joined us!” Aileen said, voice rising until Hope shushed her and pointed at Isaac. “It was awesome!” She continued, still full of excitement but at a lower volume. “We painted! Aunt Rosa said we had to wait for it to dry, but that they’d be ready by the time we got home from school.”

“What did you paint?” Michael asked, head still turned towards the kids.

“Pictures for you! For Father’s--” Aileen was cut off by Hope’s hand over her mouth.

“We just painted some flowers,” Hope said instead. “You know, boring stuff.”

“I painted a wizard!” Jaime said from the back. “Aunt Rosa drew it for me! And then she helped me keep the paint in the lines! It was pretty cool. And then she helped me draw a picture for Mr. Ortecho!” Alex heard him rumple paper and then he heard Michael’s appreciative noises. “It’s a picture of Mr. Ortecho and me cooking,” he explained for Alex’s benefit.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see it,” Alex said, grin on his face. Arturo would be pleased to know that he was still Jaime’s favorite. “I’m guessing it was a good night?” He asked as they pulled into their drive way and he turned off the engine.

“Yeah!” The kids cried in unison. Isaac startled and started whining.

“Oh,” Hope said, “Sorry Isaac.” She got out of the car and moved the seat so that she could reach into the back. She helped Jaime to unbuckle Isaac, taking him into her arms. “Shhh, baby brother,” she whispered as she bounced him the same way Michael did. “Shhh, sorry sorry.” She kept whispering as they walked toward the door. Isaac’s whining quieted completely.

Alex and Michael hung back as they watched their kids, bundled in their winter coats and uncaring that they couldn’t actually get inside as they raced each other, Hope careful with Isaac in her arms. Alex reached for Michael’s hand.

“You know,” Alex said as they slowly made their way up the stone pathway to their front door. “This was everything I wanted too, even if seventeen year old me would never have admitted it.”

“What, not punk enough for you?” Michael teased as his left hand reached for his house key.

“More like I didn’t want to admit it, in case it didn’t come true.” He dropped Michael’s hand so that Michael could unlock the front door.

“Well, it did,” Michael said as he ushered the kids inside.

“Yes it did,” Alex agreed and shut the front door.

  
  



End file.
